Wheelchair users are often exposed to inclement weather including rain, fog, wind, and/or excessively sunny weather while occupying a wheelchair. If the wheelchair is manually propelled, the user's hands are occupied and are not free to hold an umbrella or the like to protect the user in inclement weather. Even if the wheelchair is motorized, the user is often occupied in maneuvering the wheelchair. Also, some wheelchair users simply lack arm strength to hold an umbrella or the like in inclement weather.
Several attempts have been made in the prior art to try to protect wheelchair users from inclement weather. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,057 to Spence, Jr. (1983) discloses a transparent wheelchair cover comprising a number of clear panels removably attached to the front of the wheelchair. The cover is supported by a frame having a pair of substantially vertical members joined at the top by a horizontal member. When deployed, Spence's cover appears to have been locked in a static position, as though incoming rain or sunshine always fell perpendicularly to the ground. U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,740 to Friday (1990) discloses a transparent rain hood apparatus for wheelchair users. Friday provides a symmetrical collapsible tubular structure removably attached to the wheelchair undercarriage, and topped by a plastic covering. The support frame includes a rectangular shaped portion of four tubular members hingedly joined at two front and two rear corners. Like Spence's device, the device disclosed by Friday appears to assume that rain and sunshine will fall perpendicularly to the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,479 to Servi (1987) discloses a wheelchair canopy shade having a frame mountable to the handle grips of the wheelchair. The frame includes at least two vertically disposed posts that are braced by at least one transverse member. Roof-forming members are connected to the top ends of the two vertically disposed posts, and a vinyl or canvas parasol shade snaps on to the frame. However, Servi's vertical members appear to be static vertical, although the roof portion seems pivotable rearward toward the vertical posts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,889 to Diestel (1992) discloses a wheelchair removable weather breaker cover that is removably secured by a cover support clamp bracket. A tubular extension may be fitted to the clamping bracket to promote stability of Diestel's wheelchair cover. The cover is attached by two short tubular members that releaseably clamp to vertical posts that are positioned adjacent the wheelchair handles. Not unlike several of the prior art designed described above, Diestel's structure is essentially disposed statically horizontally and vertically. Unfortunately, such static structure does not permit varying the cover orientation should rain or sunshine fall other than perpendicularly to the ground.
Thus, there is a need for an adjustable wheelchair shield that can be oriented in other than a purely horizontal-vertical configuration. Such shield should be user adjustable with respect to orientation, and preferably should be collapsible so as to not require removal from the wheelchair when not in use. Such shield should, however, be readily removable. Further, such shield should be mechanically reconfigurable for use by wheelchair users who lack sufficient arm strength to manually adjust the shield. Finally, to promote wide spread use of such a shield, the shield should be readily and economically manufacturable.
The present invention provides such a wheelchair shield.